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Biologist Bonnie Bassler receives MacArthur Fellowship

Posted September 25, 2002; 04:03 p.m.

by etu

Bonnie Bassler, a biologist whose research has revealed surprisingly sophisticated methods of communication among bacteria, has been awarded a 2002 MacArthur Fellowship.

Bassler is among 24 scientists, artists, scholars and activists who each will receive $500,000 no-strings-attached grants over a five-year period from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The fellowships, known informally as the "genius grants," recognize people who have "shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits, and a marked capacity for self-direction" in their fields.

In its announcement, the MacArthur foundation cited Bassler for research that "reveals new insights into the basic biology and ecology of bacteria, findings that may have direct application in the future treatment of disease."

Also among this year's MacArthur fellows are: Ann Blair, who received a doctoral degree from Princeton in 1990 and is now a professor of history at Harvard University; and Charles Steidel, who received a bachelor's degree from Princeton in 1984 and is now a professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.